UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Coach Josh Pastner: "It Was Showtime Like With The Lakers"

UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner speaks about the challenges he faces after taiking over at UNLV.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels head coach Josh Pastner waits for the start of the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team hired Josh Pastner to take over as their new head coach this offseason. He has a large task in front of him to bring UNLV back to prominence, but that's exactly what he intends to do. Pastner spoke to Bruce Pascoe of tuscon.com about how he plans to get fans back in the building, returning UNLV to their glory days of the 80s and 90s, and the challenges he faces with his new job compared to his past head coaching gigs.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels Head Coach Josh Pastner On Trying To Get The Fans Back To Games

“Everywhere, I’ve gone, I’ve given out my business card — people I meet on the planes, people I see at the gym, ‘Hey, buy UNLV tickets. We need you to buy tickets,’” Pastner said. “I’m trying to be as hands on as I can be to get people back in the Thomas & Mack.”

Pastner On His Nostalgia For The Glory Days Of UNLV and Arizona

“It was a spectacle. It was showtime, like with the Lakers. Part of the reason the city is what it is today is because of that ‘80s and ‘90s run.

Coach Olson and coach Tarkanian, they had the two juggernauts on the West Coast for so long. What coach Olson did for the city of Tucson and the University of Arizona is what coach Tarkanian and his staff and players did to UNLV and the city of Las Vegas.”

Pastner On The Differences Between Taking Over At UNLV And His Past Jobs At Memphis and Georgia Tech

“When I took over Memphis and Georgia Tech, you already kind of had your team. It wasn’t (about) the portal at those times. You really didn’t go fundraise. You had to go out and see the different high school coaches, AAU coaches.

I had to get a whole new team (at UNLV). I didn’t go around seeing high school guys and high school coaches. I had to go around my first couple weeks on the job and raise money. In the past, you kind of had a fundraising area within the athletic department. Now, the head coach probably is more of a fundraiser than actually a coach, but that’s the reality of where the world is right now in college athletics.

I think it’s really hard to like this new model if you don’t like dealing with people. There’s a lot of things I’m not good at, but one of them I’m good at is dealing with people. I like human beings.”

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